Uniforms and Ranks of the Victorian Independent State
The Victorian Independent State, as with the rest of the , had a series of ranks, and what could loosely be described as 'uniforms' that were common among militias in certain provinces, with the Victorian Independent Military, which had a level of standardization that was out of the ordinary for a rebel group. The ranks of the Independent State were only standardized in the Independent Military, with each militia group having their own system, or none at all, with a commander, leaders of small units, and regular soldiers. Uniforms Victorian Independent Military Field Uniform ]] Upon the founding of the Victorian Independent Military, once its basic elements had been established, multiple provinces of the VIS demanded that the military have a basic uniform in order to distinguish it from local militias, and make it easier for the provincial governments to make sure that the military was not being used in an improper manner. The idea, proposed by Brian Phillips from the province of Bridgevale, was ratified in June of . Only a month later, the uniform's design was released. It was to be composed of an olive drab blouse and pants, gray T-shirt, brown or olive drab pistol belt, black boots, and ankle puttees with the same color as the blouse and pants so as to make the boot manufacturing more economical. The uniforms were allowed to be made by any clothing manufacturer, with the Independent State government offering incentives for those that efficiently created uniforms that were fit for use. As a result, there was a surplus of the uniforms from multiple companies attempting to obtain the guaranteed incentives when the Independent Military halted taking them in . As the news of the end reached the Independent State in , a new uniform was designed, utilizing the same cut as the original olive drab, but in a new camouflage pattern for urban warfare, based on that used by the UNSC Marine Corps. These new uniforms were issued to some units before the returned to Victoria in , but were a rarity, with only about 100 sets having been made and distributed, mainly to units of the Victorian Independent Army Capital Defense Battalion. As a result of many companies making the uniforms, batches from different manufacturers tended to have differences in their material and construction. One of the biggest differences lay between those created in the Western Region and those from the Northwestern Region. The Western Region, being of a generally hotter climate than the Northwestern Region, also had uniforms that were made of a lighter material than those made in the Northwestern Region, which were made from stocks of fabric that had been designed for very cold temperatures. While the VIS had a standardized basic fatigue uniform, there was never a standard coat, meaning that some VIM troops who had been issued with uniforms made in the Western Region had to resort to wearing civilian or UNSC surplus jackets to stay warm in the winter. Service Dress Uniform The service dress uniform of the Victorian Independent Military was created mainly from two sources. The first were the stocks of uniform items that had been left behind by the planet's former and garrison, with the second source being civilian clothing. As troops were expected to purchase their own dress uniforms if needed, and the fact they were only worn during formal occasions and by troops on parade during Colonial Independence Day, the service dress uniform was a rare sight even in the capital of Agley. The Victorian Independent Army's uniform consisted of a pair of khaki trousers and shirt of similar color with epaulets, with a black tie, generally tucked into the shirt. Rank insignia was worn either as cloth sewn onto the sleeve of the shirt, or more commonly, metal rank pinned onto the epaulets. The ranks were taken from the former garrison's stocks and doled out on a need-based basis, with the expectation they were to be returned. The uniform was also worn with a black belt and tan field cap for enlisted, with officers wearing the UNSC Army's service cap. For members of the Victorian Armored Corps, it was worn with a black beret, and those from the Victorian Airborne Forces were supposedly instructed to wear a maroon beret, but while they wore such headgear with their field uniforms, they were never seen in any situations that would require them to wear the service uniform. unique pre-VIS dress uniform]]The Victorian Independent Air Force's uniform was very similar to those worn by the VIA, however, their uniform color was dark blue for the trousers and light blue for the shirt. They also wore garrison caps that had been acquired from the UNSC garrison's uniform stocks as opposed to field caps as the Army did, with officers wearing a captured UNSC Air Force service cap. Karl Afeld wore a dress uniform that he had been given as a gift by General . It consisted of a jet black uniform with a tan overcoat. He was also seen to wear a converted tan wheel cap with the uniform. The rarest seen military uniform was the service uniform of the Victorian Independent Navy, and by extension Victorian Naval Infantry. The basic uniform, for enlisted and officers, was a modified version of the navy blue or white 'crackerjacks' worn as a service uniform by members of the UNSC Navy Privateer Fleet. Initially, there was no service dress uniform for the VIN. However, in , after receiving news that they would be returning to for a fortnight-long shore leave while the Origami II was being surveyed for any issues that needed to be addressed, a group of officers and men raided the ship's stores from boarded UNSC privateer ships. Finding a store of UNSC Privateer Fleet dress uniforms, the sailors began to modify them, removing the tallies bearing 'UNSC Navy' on the enlisted caps, and simply stitching 'Independent Navy', with varying degrees of effectiveness. The officers, choosing to wear the service caps with the uniform, chose to simply wear the white cap with the navy blue uniform and vice versa in order to make them distinctive from the UNSC. As the Origami II's crew disembarked, the sailors donned their new dress uniforms. The new unofficial service uniform became instantly popular among the ship's crew, including the Naval Infantry, who modified the uniform further with the addition of a medallion with bearing their insignia pinned onto the cap. Militias Northwestern Region (Esterbeech, Fayfield, Woodfort, Bridgevale, Lorbridge Provinces) Eastern Region (Woodfort, Bridgevale, Lorbridge, Dorfield, Rockland Provinces) The militias of the Eastern Region tended to be the most secretive, and as a result, had no real 'uniform' beyond what civilian clothes their members owned. This was due to the fact that the Eastern Region was in the main operating area of pro-UNSC partisans. This also meant the local militias were paranoid about UNSC collaborators and wielded a great amount of influence and power in the name of the security of the Independent State. Raids on suspected UNSC partisans or even regular people who had done something that had angered a member of the militia were commonplace, and were the only points where militiamen in the region ever were standardized. In particular, they would always wear dark-colored clothing that covered most of their body, and either a balaclava or gas mask to obscure their face. Outside of the raids, the appearance of militias in the Eastern Region were diametrically opposite to those within the Capital Region. Civilian clothing, generally neutral colored T-shirts and sweatpants, augmented during combat operations with a tactical vest, balaclava, and some type of headgear, were the most common articles of clothing among militiamen within the region. Unlike the Capital Region, the look did not change, as the Eastern Region's provinces all had a border to the frontier, causing most to follow the lead of dressing in civilian clothes in order to prevent being targeted by pro-UNSC partisans. Northeastern Region (Iceacre, Westspring, Clearbutter, Aldcoast, Greencrystal Provinces) Western Region (Fayburn, Aelfort, Mallowford, Faywind, Bushpond Provinces) The Western Region, being the warmest climate of the Victorian Independent State, as well as being the location of the great majority of the farmland that, along with trade from Glabetov, fed the VIS, had militia gear that was generally chosen for ease of wear for long periods of time. The Western Region militias, curiously, had more full-time militiamen than most units in the Capital Region, who usually kept a permanent garrison of about seven men at their headquarters for security purposes. These greater numbers were partially due to the fact that Western Region militiamen were also paid for their services better than any other militia groups, owing to the fact they protected the VIS' food supply. The militias generally wore very loose fitting clothing, usually an olive or khaki T-shirt with surplus gear that had been designed for troops in hot climates, in combination with a wide-brimmed cap to keep the sun out of their eyes. These uniform choices were not only due to the warm climate, but also due to the fact that militiamen on duty were tasked with being in the heat all day, keeping a constant patrol of the area's farms. One unit in particular, the Victorian Mounted Rifles, one of only three militia units in the VIS to be comprised entirely of full-time militiamen, wore entirely khaki boonie caps, with the left brim pinned up to the crown of the hat Capital Region (Vertbeach, Barrowford, Merrikeep, Agley, Westmount Provinces) The militias of the Capital Region were particularly aesthetically distinct from the other militias of the Independent State, as their vicinity to the Victorian Independent Military and the former bases on the colony allowed them to easily obtain military surplus. The issue soon became that the militias became indistinguishable from the VIM, which caused confusion among the ranks of both organizations, leading to a meeting between the heads of the various groups. An agreement was reached that, as the Independent Military mainly operated within the inner provinces of the Capital Region, militias in those areas would wear some article of clothing that distinguished them from the regular military. This distinctive article was deemed to be the provincial symbol stitched visibly somewhere on the militiaman's uniform or headgear. Beyond this distinctive uniform item, the general look of the Capital Region militias around Agley was very similar to the Independent Military's. However, in outlying provinces such as Westmount and Barrowford, the militias preferred a mixture of surplus camouflage and civilian clothing as opposed to the olive drab uniforms of the militias in the inner provinces. Ranks Victorian Independent Military Officers General Colonel (Captain) Lieutenant Colonel (Commander) Major (Lieutenant Commander) Captain (Lieutenant Junior Grade) Lieutenant (Ensign) Enlisted Chief Master Sergeant (Adjutant) Master Sergeant (Master Petty Officer) Staff Sergeant (Staff Petty Officer) Sergeant (Senior Airman, Petty Officer First Class) Corporal (Airman First Class, Petty Officer Second Class) Private (Airman, Petty Officer Third Class) Category:Safe Havens